The Truth of Concepts
by snowprincess
Summary: The truth was that Lorelai was engaged, but she didn't think her mother would see it so kindly. The truth was that one breath was not enough to fill her lungs and her spirits enough to spill the next few words,Mom, Dad, Luke and I are going to get married
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Truth of Concepts

Author: snowprincess

Rating: PG

Summary:The truth was that Lorelai was engaged, but she didn't think her mother would see it so kindly. The truth was that one breath was not enough to fill her lungs and her spirits enough to spill the next few words, "Mom, Dad, Luke and I are going to get married."

Disclaimer!YO TENGO NADA!

Author's note: Yeah I'm back. . . didn't think I would be for a while but it happened.

* * *

Most concepts in life are simple, and rather, it is the people that tend to complicate them. Turn on the television and it shows prime examples of it. The drama of people with opinions on certain concepts is what fuels the world. Life and death, repulican or democrat (or in the case of Kirk who can never pick a side: republicrat), MTV or VH1, curly fries or homestyle. No matter what the topic, there will always be drama for it.

Most concepts in Lorelai's life were simple, and she preferred to keep it that way. It wasn't that she didn't care about anyone else's opinions, but she was the type of person who would rather watch most of the drama going on in the world through a 20 inch screen that allowed her to channel flip through problems without having to deal with any negative consequences. Drama in real life brought pain, suffering, death, and on some rare occasions, joy.

Odds were never in her favor.

It wasn't that she disliked drama whatsoever; it was more of a caution. A few choice concepts had led her to get that way after causing a few family dramas, namely some of them being pregnancy, engagements, escape, and more recently, dating. Most of the time however she was a fan of a wonderful phrase of drama.

What's life without a little chaos to make it interesting?

She caused a lot of chaos and she knew it, but usually hers was harmless. At least, she never recalled an incident where picking on Michel was deteriorative. The times where she engaged in serious arguments generally had a good reason behind them, and the odds _were _in her favor then that the drama involved only one other person: Emily.

Thus, Lorelai bringing up the concept of engagement to her again was not going to be a pleasant one. It would enevitably add to the drama already involved to the concept of Rory leaving school and no doubt be sprinkled with disgust when her parents learned of whom she was engaged to. She had been fighting it all week, just trying to enjoy the days of happiness that followed Luke's answer. The sad truth was, she knew that the truth had to be told, much as she knew what needed to be done everyday at the inn. Lorelai couldn't fight what needed saying, and she learned long ago that to not tell her parents of something this big will create bigger drama.

This was more a self-preservation act: cause a little drama now to stop a tidal wave in the future. This was also why she was now sitting outside her parent's manor working up the courage to ring the doorbell and deliver the news. Really she could have called to inform them, but the stubborn part of her brain refuses to admit that she wanted to come on the offset chance that she would see a glimpse of her daughter and at least know that she was alright.

Keeping her distance wasn't easy. It wasn't Rory's freshman year where she could just camp out because they missed each other. And she wasn't willing to pretend to be happy that Rory was doing exactly what she complained of Dean doing last year, so that left her with the decision of staying away. Now she was coming back.

She handed her coat to another nameless maid who would probably be gone before the next fortnight and followed her instructions to the dining room where her parents were taking their breakfast in exactly the same spots as they had 40 years ago, as well as last week in the calm before everything went to hell and back again. She didn't say "good morning" and she declined their offer for coffee, attesting them to her seriousness as she took her seat just like it was Friday night.

"Lorelai if this is about Rory-" Richard said as he lowered his newspaper.

"It's not. I came here because I," pause. . . "wanted to tell you something."

"Oh my God," Emily raised her hand to her mouth. "You aren't!"

Lorelai's face scrunched up in confusion, "I'm not what, Mom?"

"I can't believe you would do this again!"

"Do what Mom?" Lorelai asked. "I obviously cannot possibly understand what is going on in the mind of a thousand backstabs so would you come out and tell me what I'm supposed to be?"

"Of all of the irresponsible, selfish things. . ."

Well, at least Lorelai could make a safe bet that her parents didn't know that she was engaged yet. That still left the clue as to what the hell her mother was blabbering about though. She watched as Emily stood up and began to pace, muttering very unlady-like curses and a few words she couldn't understand. A glance at her father stated the obvious: he still didn't understand what her mother was doing and why, although she had done this many times in the last 40 years.

"Mom, what is going on?"

"Emily?"

The infuriated woman stopped in the middle of the room and stated, "Isn't it obvious, Richard? Lorelai came here to tell us she's pregnant." The underlying words again and out of wedlock hung in the air. "Lorelai how could you do this agian? Bring another child into the world without a father, not to mention a sister that will be 40 by the time it goes off ot college? Do you realize that we're going to have to tell everyone that you're pregnant again without a husband to support you? Do you know how embarrassing it will be!"

"Uh. . . hopefully it won't seeing as how I'm not pregnant. . . "

"You're not?" asked Richard. He looked almost dissapointed, as if he were momentarily excited to have another grandchild, but then turned his face back to somber as he watched Emily go through the reaction.

"No. Now Mom will you sit down and let me finish telling you what I have to say?"

All concepts are simple, save one. Truth. What is really going on will never be simple because to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Many of the truths between two, depend greatly on our own point of view." The truth was, Lorelai was not pregnant, and her mother couldn't be happier at the moment, albiet slightly confused at ther daughter's visit. Lorelai herself thought it slightly sad that she wasn't, especially after spending the last few days planning for a new home and a wedding in Stars Hollow. For the Gilmores, truth will be forever veiled under the deception and manipulative play that goes on to get anything done within the family.

The truth was that Lorelai was engaged, but she didn't think her mother would see it so kindly.

The truth was that one breath was not enough to fill her lungs and her spirits enough to spill the next few words, "Mom, Dad, Luke and I are going to get married."

She could see it in her head before she had finished the sentance. Her father, going on about how Luke had no choice but to franchise the diner and play golf every Saturday. Her mother, calling for a doctor and declaring her daughter mentally insane. The problem with her brain was that it never came up with any scenarios that actually fit the situation and she was left to wonder what exactly would happen next.

* * *

She called him just before five and left a message. "Movie at my house; bring lots of pie." That could either mean two things: she was just really lazy and wanted him to come over instead of the other way around, or that telling her parents went very badly.

He didn't believe in intuition or any of the superstition crap, but his gut told him that it was option two and that he had better make more pie. He picked boisonberry and packed up extra paper plates and plastic forks. He poured two coffees and an herbal tea and packed everything in his truck. On the way out he went to his apartment and dug until he found her favorite flannel shirt in his closet and grabbed an orange pillow off of his bed.

He found her on the couch flipping channels, still wearing the confining clothes required when visiting the Gilmore mansion. Luke gave her the shirt and told her to go change while he set up the living room. He cut up the pie and placed two pieces on a plate and leaving the rest on the coffee table, while placing the drinks in the appropriate places. He then proceeded to take off his shoes and socks and claim a corner of the couch, placing the pillow behind his back so he could stay in the position for a long time.

Lorelai came downstairs fresh faced and decked in the good old white and blue, rubbing her eyes along the way. She smiled when she saw the display on her table and joined Luke on the couch, both stretching their legs to the other end with her side pressed against his chest. "You brought pie."

"Mmm hmmm."

"And coffee."

"Yeah."

"And plastic."

"I've got your M.O.."

"And flannel."

"Just give me a crystal ball and a nine hundred number and call me psychic."

She snuggled further into his chest before asking, "Any picks for the movie?"

"Just nothing fruity or horrendously violent. . . or musicals since I'm still trying to get over Rocky Horror."

"C'mon that's a cult classic."

"Yes for sadist who like cross dressing time warps."

"I swear you will one day learn that dance."

"Not in any way willingly." His hand came up to rub her back softly. "What happened today, Lorelai?"

* * *

That's all for now, but I definiately plan on continuing. It's just that it's after 1AM (yay im 17 now!) and I really need sleep.

RnR

Snow


	2. Chapter 2

"What happened today, Lorelai?"

Well, nothing really. That could be the simple lie that saved more pain. But the truth couldn't be like that; it was meant to cause pain and make you grow, but she really didn't see how she could grow from this. Her parents who were they were, trapped in the world they grew up to believe was the ideal American life and that the rules they followed must be universally constant if the world was to continue existing. All of the things that she disliked about people could be wraped into a ball and called Emily and Richard Gilmore, and yet she was trappped by the truth. They were her parents, she cared and loved them, but wanted nothing more than to seek their approval, the elusive concept that she couldn't achieve once she reached the age of ten.

She felt his hand moving up and down her back, the soft movement of his chest under hers, his stubble tickling her face as she rested it in the crook of his neck. In front of her was a table of comfort food and a tv playing some unknown program turned way down low. Her arms were around his chest as tightly as she could get them, and her legs were a tangled mess with his.

"I told them, and my mother reacted. . ."

* * *

_"You're what!"_

_"I said I'm getting married, Mom."_

_She watched as Emily began to stride the room, fingers at her lips in thought, while Richard took another sip of his brandy and waited for his wife to set the tone. After a few moments she stomped her foot and gained a pained expression, "How could you do this!"_

_Lorelai numbly sat and waited for the elaboration. It wasn't like she hadn't expected it, but hope is always cruel when she needs it the most. She began to play with her fingers in order to distract herself, but then quickly folded them so that Emily couldn't see her bare ring finger and thus take another dig at the man who didn't even do the asking._

_"Do you even care about what happens to this family! Rory needs a strong guidence in her life, not the upheaval of her mother marrying the local vendor! Do you even care that this will mean that that little girl has got no chance of having a normal family? Of course you don't, because everything is always about you. Well guess what Lorelai, we don't all have that luxury!"_

_Not willing to be made the fallout guy she had stood up and defended herself as always. "You're right Mom, it's all about me. You know if you had even bothered to open your eyes for two seconds beyond your nose and beyond the DAR you would know that Luke has always been a stable guidance in her life and that Christopher has been good for coming in and giving her false hope, which, by the way, Luke helped mend after he ditched us again! You would know that that man is responsible for making sure she ate more than take out and pizza everyday, and that he nearly beat up her first boyfriend for breaking her heart-"_

_

* * *

_

"And then we fought. . ."

* * *

_"Oh for heaven sake Lorelai that man makes food for a living its not like he wasn't already fufilling his calling! He doesn't have a stable income or a way to provide for anyone but himself-"_

_"Ah, newsflash, he invested $30,000 in the inn, he owns the entire building the diner is located in, and he rents out his childhood home. If you can't call that financially stable than you obviously weren't paying attention in your last economics course."_

_"He isn't a suitable match."_

_"To you maybe. Again if you weren't so vision deficient you would see that that man is everything that I've ever wanted or needed in my life; the whole package. He is there for me and I'm there for him and he loves Rory more than a stepdad should have to-"_

_"He was married and divorced within a year; that's not stable, that's more like-"_

_"What an out of control sixteen year old daughter! His wife cheated on him; did you really expect him to stay married?"_

_Emily paused and took a breath before coming to the clincher. "And if he's so financially stable, then why are you getting married but don't have an engagement ring?"_

_

* * *

_

And then she really lost it. . ."

* * *

_"Because I asked him."_

_"You what!"_

_"Lorelai," Richard sat forward slightly, "you know that is not proper behavior. When a man proposes he is supposed to ask permission and do it the right way."_

_"Oh right, my mistake Dad. It isn't proper for me to ask the man I love to marry me, but it's proper for you both to go behind my back and harbor in a girl whom I had been trying to convince not to quit her dreams. It's proper for you to encourage her to become nothing more than a housewife with no education and no future and a broken tiara over a bottle of vodka."_

_Emily sat heavily on the couch as if the very air holding her up had deflated like so many helium baloons. "So in addition to being uncouth he is also uncivilized. You would think he would at least know to ask."_

_"Yeah, ask permission to be asked to be married from people who don't even like him. Boy, that's not asking a lot right there. You know, I didn't come here to be ridiculed for another choice I've made that you blatantly don't approve of. I came to tell you I was getting married and I'm not going to let you ruin my happiness for it just because you freaked out when you didn't know last time."_

_Emily glared at her, "Which gives me about three months to plan ahead."_

_"And why is that?" Lorelai crossed her arms over the sea blue shirt she was wearing._

_"That's how long you were engaged before you ran away just before the wedding. You never change, Lorelai. You said that he was the one too, remember?"_

_"Yeah, well it's different this time."_

_"Oh really? How?"_

_"Because now I'll never want for coffee is that what you want to hear? I'm not going to go into the details of what I feel in my heart to you because knowing you you'll just pull another wedding stunt."_

_"Christopher was there and it was the right time for you two."_

_"No it really wasn't but you just had to go ahead and give it a little nudge anyway. Christopher and I were over the second the stick turned blue. We were too young and too independant and we wouldn't have made it, then and now."_

_"You would have made it because of Rory. If you would have done the proper thing then we wouldn't be having this conversation because you would have protected this family and done what was right to maintain your daughter's social appearance."_

_"No I would just be like the Huntsburger mother, chain-smoking in the corner while planning catillions and what string of pearls would be appropriate for this function and that function." Lorelai grabbed her bag and headed to the door, muttering, "I've got to get out of here."_

_

* * *

_

And then I lost it. . ."

_

* * *

_

_Emily followed her to the door. "Come back here, young lady! We're not finished!"_

_Lorelai turned and stopped the woman in her tracks. The fire she felt blaze in her eyes felt nothing compared to what she felt near her heart, "Oh yes we are. I do not deserve to walk in here to tell you news that should be joyous only to have you insult the man I love and everything I have ever done in my life. I have found a guy who takes me as I am and is willing to put up with you, which is asking too much of anyone. So you know what, Mom? I'm getting married. I'll send you a postcard from our honeymoon. . ."_

_And then she was gone._

_

* * *

_

"And I made sure the door didn't hit my ass on the way out."

"That's not much of a story. Really short."

"Yeah, I was thinking of having it take the place of the shortest story: I came, I saw, I conquered." Lorelai sighed and rested her head against his chest. "Really, Luke, I'll tell you all of the sordid details."

"I know you will. But you don't have to tonight."

"Thank you."

Luke sat up straighter and reached over to the table, grabbing the plate and the coffee along with two forks. "C'mon, lets eat this while it's still warm," he said, handing over the coffee and reaching back for his tea.

* * *

Yes I think that will be all for this installment. RnR plz.

Snow


	3. Chapter 3

Well here is chapter 3 semi-fresh out of the inner recesses of my mind. Don't have much news to add here except one question: Does anyone else think that 'Tipsy Luke' from You Jump, I Jump, Jack sound a lot like TJ?

* * *

Lorelai shifted slightly in her heels as she continued to walk the inn grounds, jotting notes in her book as she continued to talk. "Now, the large grassy area is clear of any trees and would probably be ideal for a reception if you choose to have it here. You know we can pitch up some tents for shade and leave a center for dancing, and we have these beautiful lights to hang in the trees during the evening hours."

The woman beside her twirled a strand of hair as she surveyed the area. "I'm not sure. I need to go back and talk to Joe before anything's definate, but I really love the gardens. It would be so perfect for the wedding."

They continued on the path back toward the inn. "Well, since you have the date set, how about I reserve the day for you here and if you both decide that you want it, it's yours. In the meantime, our wonderful kitchen staff has made themselves crazy making lunch, so I hope you're hungry." She smoothed out her ruffled skirt and closed her notes book. "So, have you and Joe made any plans beyond finding a place for the wedding?" Both gave a sigh of relief as the cool air of the inn hit their skin. Lorelai nodded to Michel to let him know she was back and began to lead them into the dining room. She picked a spot by the window that had a good view of the gardens and gestured to the waiter to bring drinks.

Sylvia took her seat, "Some. We've been waiting until right about now to do the bulk of it since I don't work a lot in the summer. I think that's part of the reason I became a teacher since I love having the majority of this time of year off."

"Well how have the plans been going?"

The woman leaned her head on the table for a few seconds before sitting up again. "I couldn't have possibly imagined how many things there were to get done. What with the caterer and the flowers and the invites and the food-"

"And the dress and picking bridesmaids. . ." Lorelai added.

"Oh, are you married?"

"No, but I was engaged a few years ago. It ended a couple days before the wedding." Lorelai took a sip of her water and glanced at the garden. For a moment she could almost picture the chuppah sitting there, in her wedding to Luke. The thought brought a smile to her face.

Sylvia frowned, "I'm sorry; you don't have to talk about it."

"No it's okay. I was the one that broke it off anyway."

"Can I ask why?"

Flashbacks of four years past went through her mind faster than the DeLorian could have taken her to them. "I realized that he wasn't the one, and I didn't want to marry someone that I knew I didn't love." Her mind settled on her engagement party. She remembered coming to bug Luke about not being there, as if she couldn't celebrate her getting married without a man whom she wasn't even marrying. Lorelai smiled of when he had come and sat on the bench to watch her, and ended up with three little girls in wedding dresses pretending he was their husband for the night.

"Because you're in love with someone else," stated the woman. She grinned at the hazy woman in front of her and ran a hand through her red hair. "Has he asked you to marry him yet?"

Lorelai snapped out of her reflective stance. "No actually I asked him about a week ago, hence the no ring yet," she explained as she waved her left hand slightly. "How long have you been engaged?"

"About three months."

"It's a nice feeling isn't it?"

"Lorelai I am in need of some assistance." Michel stiffly approached the two women. "That annoying delivery man is here and I cannot tolerate his antics anymore this week or I will have to find something very hard and swing."

"Who Kirk?" Lorelai rested her chin on her elbow and smiled devilishly to Sylvia, Michel not noticing.

"Yes Kirk. The one who works many many jobs and feels the need to tell me about all of them, when really I do not care," he whined, his accent getting slightly thicker.

"Michel have you ever been in love?" Lorelai asked.

"Not exactly, and what does this have to do with the annoying delivery man?"

Just then the said annoying one entered the dining room in search of a manager. "Hello Lorelai, Michel, lady I don't know. I have your flower delivery and I need someone to sign for it. Well, not you since I'm assuming you don't work here."

Michel almost groaned when his boss gave him the 'work or die' look and turned around. "Follow me."

Just as the two were about to exit, Lorelai called out, "Hey Kirk! Are you in love with Lulu?"

"I believe so, yes. I think I started to love her when I realized that she wasn't scared of my night terrors, and then it just grew when she let me take care of her when she got sick, even if that meant dressing up as the town whore-"

"Well that's great Kirk, I'm really happy for you. You know Michel was just telling us about how he hasn't fallen in love yet and doesn't know what it feels like. Maybe he would like to hear about it from you."

"Lorelai, really, that is not necessary."

In reality, Michel was already screwed. It only took a few seconds for Kirk to catch up and then he was off and visions of pointy things began to float around in his head and the actions he could do with them.

* * *

About an hour later Lorelai was shuffling through papers at the front desk. Michel's whining about Kirk's 'abuse' had grated on enough of her nerves that she felt an organizational spout coming on. It was the only thing she could do really, since she couldn't vent her frustration tightening bed sheets or washing dishes because some months ago she had felt the need to hire people that could do that. She was so focused on putting the books in a pretty little display that someone was bound to destroy later that she jumped what she would later say was five feet when the phone rang.

"Good afternoon, Dragonfly Inn."

"Lorelai-"

_Click._

One day she would rememeber to install a Caller I.D. or block the number, until then, this was mightily satisfying.

_Ring._

My how things quickly turned into annoying. She sighed, "Dragonfly Inn."

"Lorelai."

"Mother."

"Did you just hang up on me?"

"Gee, I wonder what gave you that idea?"

"Lorelai this is increasingly childish and immature."

The cumpled paper in her hands was not serving as a good stressball. "Well, I guess I learned from the best about being immature. At least I don't go around telling my daughter that she can't marry the man she loves and then accuse her of being pregnant."

"No you just go around telling her she can't come home when she needs support and guidance."

"And you go around stabbing people in the back. You know, I'm not too happy with you right now, and I really don't feel like talking to you-"

"I haven't told her." The meaning behind this stretched ages. She didn't tell Rory about the fight, the engagement, or the discussion of her future.

Lorelai mentally groaned. What, was she supposed to be thankful that Emily kept her secret? Or grateful that she hasn't had a pissed off younger version of her attacking her for not sharing the most important news in her personal life of late? She felt a headache coming on along with the hot air of claustrophobia combined with the desire to run although she hadn't done any major physical activity since the ill-fated yoga class. By the time she was calmed down enough to talk again the phone was already dead; not that she cared to speak to Emily anyway.

It was times like these that she really wished Sookie wasn't on maternity leave. They were always good at giving each other advise on issues that they weren't both usually involved in; a mediator over a cup of good coffee. Now all she had was the coffee and her office computer. She locked the door and sat in her chair, staring out her window, pretending to have a Sook-Lai conversation in her head. The results were the same anyway; it was time to tell Rory. Emily saying that she had been discreet so far was as good as a warning that she was ready to spill the beans, so to speak, and that Rory would be the first person she complained to since Richard had already heard her excuses for not liking Luke many times over.

"_Hi, you've reached my cell, and if you don't know who you're calling, I'm not telling you who I am. And Finn, for the last time, NO."_

"Rory it's me. . . Look I know we're not on the best terms right now, but I have some big, life-changing news I want to share with you. So, call me and we can talk, or meet up, or something. Bye."

Lorelai clicked her cell phone shut and stood. Her mind was amazing blank, but unfocused, as if she was scattered while being completely together. Part of her was not looking forward to the concept of telling Rory she was about to have a stepfather. It certainly wasn't going to be the celebration that her engagement to Max was; probably more like when she found out that Christopher had a new family besides her. At least, it felt that way to her.

Slowly she brought her hands to her chest as if she was praying, pushing them towards the ceiling as she exhaled, pulling them back as she inhaled, pushing them towards the wall as she exhaled, and pulling them into her as she inhaled. She repeated this motion, the mantra of many nights in front of her television giving her some needed advice.

_"Whenever you feel life out of focus, always return to the basic of life."_

_"What praying?"_

_"Breathing. No breathe no life. . . In through nose, out through mouth. . .In. . .Out. Now how feel?"_

_"Better; more focused."_

She knew what she needed to do. A few steps and she was out the door. After all, Michel could handle things and there were two more deliveries scheduled before the end of the day.

* * *

I know it's short but it would be nice to end it here for today. I know ppl want LL but it just didn't work out.

**5 pts for whoever can guess the movie quote!**

Snow


	4. Chapter 4

Well I'm back again-- and I really need new opening lines because I'm very redundant now. Sadly, no one correctly guessed completely the movie quiz, but I will award 2.5 points to egbert and amelia for getting the series right. Yes it was the Karate Kid, but it was the second one and not the first.

* * *

Sneaking on and off the grounds was something she had mastered at a young age. Sneaking on the grounds and hiding a car at the same time was much more difficult considering it didn't exactly fit in with the other cars that had fancy names and high tags. Added to that was getting past what seemed to be the Emily Gilmore radar of if someone was in the front yard, so that left sneaking around the perimeter, which meant that she had to go barefoot as to not leave heel marks in the grass and wreck her perfect new shoes.

Lorelai had watched enough spy movies that she had learned a thing or two about being sneaky. But really it wasn't fair because most spies had to do the gruntwork to get in unnoticed; all Lorelai had to do was use her handy-dandy key, make sure she locked the door after she got in, and hide in a dark corner until after her target had arrived in order to get to business. The backfire was that most spies had an objective for breaking in an establishment; Lorelai's goal had been to just get in and wait.

She had never had much patience.

The only option that remained was find something quiet to do that didn't tip anyone off that she was here. That left about only two options: sitting quietly in a corner or reading quietly in a corner. The large bookshelf loomed before her and she stopped for a moment and looked out the window. She could almost imagine that Rory was standing out where she had been, looking in on her and what she planned for her future. Rory would see the immediate coffee cup, but would begin to notice the little things that time and distance let slip through the cracks. Eventually she would wear a ring, would suddenly have more flannel than anything else to choose from in her wardrobe, food in the refrigerator that had nothing to do with financial difficulties. She would make that extra set of keys, and the porch light would suddenly work again, the back door would no longer be accesible, the window wouldn't creak anymore when Lorelai opened it to smell for snow. It hurt to know that their worlds were splitting and she couldn't stop it. Raising a child to be independant held its disadvantages; it eventually led them to search for their own path, possibly leaving hers behind.

Lorelai didn't want to think about it. She wanted to be happy and share a happy moment with her daughter, and forget all of the crap that had surrounded their arguments of late. She missed the simplicity of telling her news and being able to have a raving party through the house with nothing but a Metallica cd and some frozen chocolate cake.

Her eyes scanned the shelves for something to hold her interest until whenever Rory got home for the evening. Some titles she recognized from home, others were new, and some she knew to be her father's, most likely on loan while he waited for her feedback on something or the other. She spotted The Illiad and The Odessy and thought for a moment about sneaking them home just to tease Luke a little bit. Hell, she even missed when her parents were doing crazy things with Luke and at least semi-participating in their relationship instead of being constantly dissapointed in her choices of late.

She began to walk the room, seeing bits and pieces of Rory's life scattered about. One thing she had learned from her mother was the art of only half-unpacking and leaving the rest on the floor. Obviously Emily hadn't been in here yet or the maid in charge of keeping the place tidy would have been long gone by now. She entered the bedroom and saw the new sheets that Rory had bought before sophomore year had started. On the top of the scattered sheets lay Kernel Plucker, along with Lorelai's amused thought of 'how did that end up here?'

She sat on the bed and leaned against the pillows, picking up the chicken. It had been a while since she had seen it, she acknowledged. Images of a 4 year old running around the inn with a chicken came to mind. A visit with Mia and her laughter at Rory's refusal to let the thing go. Packing it away just because Dean had touched it right before watching Willy Wonka.

This was her daughter's life; jammed away in a pool house in her parent's yard next to a pool that hadn't been used since she was sixteen herself. It was her things in a room that held no life; no memories. It wasn't a home. Rory had a home, and she belonged there. It was a trap Lorelai made for herself. By punishing Rory for her bad choice she punished herself as well, doomed to spend her summer days glancing at a room that should have held her young one in between bouts of movie marathons and pretending to eat grapefruits for extra Luke's coffee, despite the fact that Luke had a soft spot for the younger Gilmore anyway. This was one lie she couldn't shove away and deal with later; she missed her little girl.

* * *

"Mom. . . Mom wake up. . ."

"Uuuughh. . .early."

"No, it's late and you're sleeping in my bed."

Lorelai opened her eyes to see Rory standing next to her. "What time is it?"

Rory glanced at her alarm clock. "After eleven. Were you here this whole time? Luke has called me like five times now asking if I knew where you were and I just got home."

"Did you get my message?"

Rory wandered over to her desk and sat in the computer chair. It wasn't hard for Lorelai to tell that things were still going to be tense. "Life-changing news huh?"

"Yeah. . that's what I advertised."

Silence.

"You look well," Lorelai offered.

"I am."

Damn this was frustrating. . . and really hard to admit. Having the feeling of missing someone whose room she had been soley occupying before was overwhealming. Seeing the person she spent most of her waking life for and yet feeling so far away amplified the effect.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about the last time we talked. I know that you want what's best for me, but I'm not sure I know what I want. I just need some time to find out, and I fully intend to go back once I know where it is I'm going."

"I just don't want you to be what your father was, wandering around for years trying to get his life together."

"I don't want to be either." Rory stood and began to pace slightly. "I wish you could understand how hard it is for me to just stop everything I've been going for, and I don't expect you to."

"You know why I can't let you come home right? I don't want to push you away, but I don't want you to think that you can come running home everytime you hit a block in the road. I just can't accept that one man's opinion could shatter your dream this way; especially after all of the crap you went through trying to get on the paper in the first place." She stood as well, "I don't want to argue with you about this since we're never going to see eye-to-eye. Rory, I would hope that you know that I still love you and I don't want you out of my life."

"I do." They both smiled and hugged tightly. "So. . big news huh?"

* * *

The lights in the house were on when Lorelai pulled her jeep into the driveway. Still barefoot from sneaking into the pool house, she quietly made her way across the yard and onto the porch. As soon as she twisted the door handle and stepped inside, he was there.

"Where were you? I called the inn, the house, your cell which your answering machine is full by the way, Rory, and was about to try your parents when you walked in."

"I'm sorry, Luke. I just. . . I had to talk to Rory and I couldn't wait but then I ended up waiting in the pool house until she came home and I just fell asleep."

"You fell asleep?" Luke put his hands on his hips and looked away for a moment and sighed. Suddenly Lorelai found herself in his arms much in the way from when he had held her after their argument about Dean. "Just, call me next time and let me know you're okay. I know how to check my messages now."

She squeezed his chest tighter, whispering, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Did you tell her?"

Lorelai smiled at him, "Yeah. She's excited; she's thinking of all the ways to corrupt you to our way of food thinking."

"Not a chance," he fired back, grinning as well. Luke finally pulled out of the hug and tugged her hand through the house, turning off lights as they went. Eventually they made it upstairs and got ready for bed.

"I need coffee."

"It's after midnight you are not getting coffee. All I'll get is you up and hyper at two a.m. while I'm trying hit the imaginary alarm clock."

"Please please please please--"

"No." Luke turned back the covers and got in, pulling her down with him to prevent her from going downstairs to search for the coffee. "Go to sleep."

She settled on his chest and was quiet for awhile, but her mind and the long nap would not stop, keeping her awake. "Luke?" she said into the darkness.

"What?"

"Have you had many women?"

"What?"

"Have you had many women?"

"Oh so it wasn't just me; you are nuts."

"C'mon, you seriously don't know what I'm talking about? This is not the first Dirty Dancing referance I have ever given you. 'Noboby puts Baby in a corner', classic, and you're clueless."

"Go to sleep Crazy Lady."

* * *

Luke came out of the back room and carried plates to a table. By the time he had reached the counter the door had gingled and he turned to see who came in. His hopes were dashed when it was not an attractive brunette, but rather a balding man with a beard who was humming a freakishly familiar tune. At first glance he tried to sneak away back into the storage room or even behind the curtain-- really he just wanted the closest thing he could hide behind.

"Oh Luke! Do you know what time of year it is?"

"Let me guess the time when all the lunatics come harassing diner owners?" His jaw was already tightening and he could envision himself grabbing that pan and throwing. . . but he couldn't even if he wanted to; Lorelai would never forgive him for missing that act a second time. That tune was just so damn annoying, along with the rest of summer, what with the festivals and the heat and the town group things. . .

Taylor put his hands together and announced loud enough for the whole diner to hear, "It's time for the annual Stars Hollow Summer Festival. And returning for another year is that wonderful courtet who sang our theme. 'Those lazy-hazy-crazy-days of summer. .'" he sang.

"And what makes you think that in any way I will be enjoying, attending, or recognizing said festival?"

"Well, as you are a member of the business community and directly in the line of sight of where the festival will be taking place, I thought it was my duty to come and ask you to do a little advertising. You know, a sign in the window, a few flowers on the counter-"

"No."

"Now Luke, would it hurt you to show a little love for Stars Hollow just once?"

He clenched his fists and looked for something to grab. That kitchen was just so, so close. "I don't know Taylor, I'm feeling a little strokey today. Maybe you should come back in about 50 years?" He spotted an empty pan sitting on the counter in the kitchen, waiting for Ceasar to use it. . . it was calling to him. A Lorelai moment ran through his brain and he saw himself as a mini-Luke with a ring of power (the pan), and the need to destroy the one evil, meaning Taylor.

Mr.Brightside on the other side of the counter was just choosing not to notice the increasing agitation in Luke. It was just too early in the morning to deal with this crap. The bell rung again. Thank God! It was Lorelai.

Now any violent action that would be taken could have an eager audience. . .

* * *

"Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Oh my God it's not true is it?"

Lorelai picked up her coffee cup from Luke's and smiled. "Sookie, it all happened, right down to the second broken window in the diner."

"Details, I need details!"

Lorelai continued talking as she walked into the kitchen, mentally preparing for Sookie's later drilling of how the kitchen staff was working, how the food was, what the taste test rating was, etc. "So I walk in, and Taylor and Luke are already arguing about Luke decorating for the summer festival."

"He hates decorating. He hates town functions."

"A well known fact among the general Stars Hollow population. So here he is getting more and more hostile, and Taylor just keeps talking about coloring this and flyers that. . "

Sookie walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, "Ah, I can just see Luke's face tightening and his fists clenching for something to throw."

"An impulse he is not very good at controlling I'm afraid. I come over and sit in a stool to watch the action, and Taylor turns to me and asks me to make him see reason. As if my opinion on town events is ever going to convince that man to enjoy them. Luke just goes nuts and begins pacing the floor, ranting about 'stupid town this' and 'annoying Taylor that'; really I should've sold tickets."

"It's like watching The Real World live."

"So for a while he gives up and goes back to the ice cream shoppe, but then five minutes later he appears at the door and begins taping up a sign promoting the festival."

"Did Luke lose it? I bet he lost it. Oh, morning Jackson. . yes just talking to Lorelai. . . Luke and Taylor had another argument again," Sookie said muffled in the background.

"He went upstairs and got his sledgehammer and began chasing Taylor around the square with it. Eventually they lapped back to the diner where Kirk had since finished his breakfast and was leaving. Taylor ran up to him and began to hide behind him while Luke was talking crazy ax-man talk-"

"Wouldn't that be crazy sledgehammer-man talk?"

Lorelai picked up a muffin and took a bite before continuing. "Probably, but here we have a virtual hostage situation going on, Kirk as the hostage, when he reaches over and grabs Taylor's cardboard sign and begins to use it as a shield. Luke begins to swing the hammer but Kirk backs up and since it's really heavy he couldn't just stop swinging- wham! Into the door window."

"Exciting."

"And I got the best seat in the house. After which, Luke walks in and calmly goes about his business. I think bashing things is a stress reliever for him."

"Remember that next time you call me and Rory asking what to do about birthday gifts. So, I called for a reason; give me the daily news."

Lorelai continued munching on the muffin while a server brought a plate to her and she began to inspect it. "Score is 10 out of 10 for appearance, 10 for taste, 10 for being food, and 10 all around so you can stop checking in everyday. Everything is fine here and you just need to relax and take care of those babies."

After a few more grumbles and expressions of threats to the kitchen staff if things are messed up, Lorelai promised another report tomorrow and hung up. She put the phone down and continued eating her breakfast, picturing Luke's reaction to her eating fruit. It was for Sookie, she justified. She was keeping the woman sane by eating the fruit, and not in any way because she liked it. It went against all proper principals she had set reguarding healthy food, and she only had one: don't eat it.

The ringing of the phone startled her and it took her a couple of seconds before answering it, "Dragonfly Inn."

"How many people know?"

"What about your violent morning while Kirk was held hostage?"

"Yeah about that."

"Sookie just called asking for details and she hasn't left the house but for a couple of times since Martha was born."

"Ah jeez."

"Hey don't worry about it; just think of it as comic relief for the rest of us, safe in the knowledge that as long as the movies coming out continue to get worse and worse, having you and Taylor duking it out is a great backup."

"That's just what I want to be, a living, breathing, walking, Black White & Read theatre." He picked up a rag and continued cleaning the counter as he talked. The glass was cleared and Kirk had already been escorted away by the town's only paramedic for a case of hyperventilation. "So, are you busy tonight?"

"Well I was thinking of going around and selling advance copies of the DVD of your fight but I guess I could squeeze you in. What have you got in mind?"

"You'll see. Dress casual and tennis shoes. Pick you up at six-thirty?"

"Alright. Do you want me to bring my own baseball cap and then we can look like twins out in the batting cages and the juice bar."

"Sorry but the patented 'Luke Danes night of romance' is not going to be occuring this evening. I'll see you tonight?"

"Bye Sledgehammer Harry." She clicked the phone off before she could hear his reply.

* * *

Well I do believe that will end this installment. The next should be the date and things that happen after, although I really have no idea where this is going to go. I'd like to finish before the season premiere starts since this is obviously AU but. . .

RnR

Snow


	5. Chapter 5

At six Lorelai was running through the door, shedding clothes as she rushed to the shower. A hair clip landed on the floor as she hopped the steps two at a time (she had already lost her shoes) while cursing Michel for not being able to allow her to leave at a decent time for once. It had taken the promise of staying an extra two hours tomorrow to buy her tonight's freedom.

'Crap, 20 minutes left and no time to dry my hair.' She ran back through the hallways looking for the hair clip again and threw her hair back into it. She felt like a high schooler again, going out on a date and not caring about anything else other than the state of her hair and if her eyeliner is running, or if the guy she's with has fallen victim to the hair flip yet. Lorelai even took time to locate her special smelling shower gel.

After setting a new personal record she scrambled out of her bathroom in her towel and to her makeup stand. After combing out her hair and applying the basics to make her eyes stand out, along with a little lip gloss (adding to the teenager feel), she stood up and groaned.

"What am I going to wear?"

* * *

At six Luke was busy wiping down tables inbetween refilling coffee cups and passing out bills. At six-ten he put his apron away and went upstairs. At six-twenty he exited the shower and put on his jeans, a long sleeved black shirt, rolled up the sleeves, and put his cap on. By six-thirty he was pacing and checking his watch to see if it was late enough to leave yet. Finally he gave up and resigned himself to a fate of looking for keys and oven-warmed socks as he left his apartment.

* * *

The truck pulled into the parking lot near the back. Lots of walking distance, but less chance of getting hit by a horrible parker. Luke turned to Lorelai who gazed out at the scene in wonder, "An amusement park?"

"Yeah well I couldn't exactly go for the pre-described night; I need to have some secrets in this relationship." Luke looked beyond his passenger at the scenery. An arcade stood off to the side along with mini-golf that preceded the main area. There were the standard thrill rides as well as the normal things that could be found at a county fair, but it also had a water park and huge slides. The neon lights blinked and Luke wondered absently if it was possible to get a seizure from staring at them for too long. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? This is unbelievable! How come you didn't tell me to bring a swimsuit?" She turned back to him and gave him the 'serious' stare.

"That could've given it away, or you would have never shut up about asking me where we were going and why you would need it." He got out and went to her door, practically pulling her out. "You can stare later, or buy a postcard with the picture on it."

Lorelai grinned as they walked arm and arm to the entrance. "So where should we go first?"

An hour later they were seated on a table eating a late dinner. Lorelai had convinced him to go on all the thrill rides first so that they could eat without worrying about getting sick. They hadn't actually hit too many, seeing as how the waiting in line took what seemed forever, and Luke was constantly skeptical about the safety concerning some of the bigger rides. She had convinced him to go on just because of all the people that went before them and came out safe. In her purse Lorelai held a picture of them going through the tunnel of one of the roller coasters. The light captured them just as they had looked at each other, both smiling and breathless from the exhileration. Each of their outside hands were holding on to the bar while they grasped each other's inside hands tightly, not once letting go from the moment that Luke had grabbed Lorelai's hand and admitted to being slightly "freaked" at really high heights just before the big drop.

Lorelai muched on her pizza as Luke pulled pieces away from his giant pretzel to eat. She had laughed when he had bought it, arguing that the point of going to these places was to eat as much disgusting food as possible since one couldn't find that much grease on any normal amount of food in real life. He had argued back that she was prime for a heart attack and that someone needed to be healthy to drive her to the hospital when it happened.

She took his hand after they were finished and lead him around, trying to find something interesting to do. Lorelai made him stop at the cotton-candy stand and even managed to get him to try a bite, albeit a small one. "You know, when Rory was little I took her to this carnival and bought her cotton-candy, but this clown bumped into her and she dropped it. She was really upset because I couldn't get her another one so I chased the guy down and stole his wig until he bought her another one."

"Which I'm sure he did, although smarter men wouldn't have allowed you to spoil her that early on. I'm guessing she got sick."

"We pulled over about 5 times on the way back to the Independance Inn." At that point Luke refused to eat anymore of the fluffy sugar, and Lorelai continued to turn her mouth a nice shade of purple from the mixing blue and pink. She then made it a point to get one kiss out of him, just so she could laugh after using her toungue to turn his a different color.

Lorelai wanted to see and do almost everything. The outing had been a great move on Luke's part due to the amount of fun that never really stopped when at a place like the one they were at. It was a chance for both of them to really relax and forget that they lived in a town of nut jobs that relied on gossip to survive.

Finally they managed to hit the arcade, where it was proven that neither of them could really dance as evidenced by one round on the Dance Dance Revolution machine. At some point they would both say that the game had been set on Master, but then who could challenge them?

Lorelai excused herself to the ladies' room and Luke continued to wander, looking for games that seemed interesting. He stopped when he saw one of those claw machines that held mystery eggs, the unknown calling to him. After paying the requisite fifty cents he managed to grab and egg on his last try. When he pulled it out and opened it he was rewarded with a shiny, brand new, never been worn plastic ring, complete with its own fake diamond. He laughed to himself before pocketing the ring and tossing the egg in the nearby garbage.

Now there was a game he could get into. Luke walked over and staked his claim at the air hockey table and waited for Lorelai to return.

* * *

"Just face it, you're stuck with it." Lorelai climbed the steps to the house and turned back to Luke who was carrying a large hot pink flamingo. "If you would've played the game, then I would have been more than happy to accept the stuffed bird, but since I played the game and won, you have to keep it."

"Who made these rules again?"

"Duh, they're the international laws of dating. Whenever playing a carnival game, the winner must give their date the stuffed object won."

Luke stopped at the top of the steps and shook his head, "There has to be a dirty in there somewhere."

Lorelai grabbed one of the birds wings and pretended to flap it, "You should name it and start a collection. Ooh! Give it to Rory and tell her to have it keep Colonel Plucker company."

"But then what if Colonel Plucker gets jealous?"

"Hmm, good point. . . Send it to TJ, but make sure you're there when he gets it." She smiled and tilted her head, giving him a chaste kiss, "Thanks for tonight."

Luke kissed her again before turning and leaning the bird against the porch. He took both of her hands in his, "Hey I know that you were the one that proposed, but I am the man, and as the man I have certain obligations to fufill." He rubbed her ring finger lightly with his thumb so she would get where he was going at before he pulled his hand away and began to dig in his pocket.

"Luke, you know you don't have to-"

"I know. But I want to give you this anyway since it probably won't fit me," he grinned as he pulled the ring out of his pocket. Lorelai took one look at it before they promptly began laughing. Luke calmed down enough to grab her hand and put it on her finger. "Really, I don't have a ring now, but I do have this. But I promise to get you the real thing."

Lorelai felt her heartstrings tug. She knew that she would never be able to talk him out of it and this was incredibly sweet. "Well I guess I'll just have to wear this until then," she said softly before kissing him again, wrapping her arms around his neck. She squeaked slightly when she was lifted off the ground a couple of inches by his tight arms around her middle. "Luke," she whispered in between kisses.

"What?"

"Babette is staring. . . I think we better get inside and lock the door. . ."

They both bolted into the house and made sure the lock was in place. Luke ran to the kitchen and jammed the chair into the back porch door seeing as how he hadn't had time to fix it yet after his last break in. Through the window he could see Babette talking on the phone excitedly, "Well I think it's safe to say that the town knows. You want coffee?"

"Definately." Lorelai went to check the answering machine. "So, who do you want to bet is going to call here first?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Lorelai, I need you for a moment."

Lorelai turned at Michel's concerned voice and put the books she was trying to alphabetize down. "What's wrong?"

"You know the convention we have scheduled for next Saturday? Well it seems that we have overbooked ourselves for the weekend."

Lorelai crossed her arms and thought for a moment, "What do we have scheduled for the day after?" Michel just looked at her and she realized how big of a problem they had. "Oh no! Not the Patterson wedding! Please don't tell me we have a convention and a wedding to pull off in one weekend!"

"I could tell you many things but I do not believe that it would solve our current problems, such as the amount of food to store, getting the rooms clean for the guests, setting up both functions and getting them down-"

Forgetting the books, she crossed the inn over to the desk and began to search for a pad and pen. She could feel her heartrate going through the roof already, along with the berating for being stupid enough to schedule two major events in one weekend. The sheer number of things that popped into her mind at that one moment to get done in just over a week were suddenly dawning on her. She had forgotten about the convention because all of the details had been finished weeks ago and the wedding she was currently meeting with the couple for details every few days.

"Michel, don't worry about next weekend right now. I am going to go in my office and figure something out, you just keep things moving. Hold all of my calls."

Michel opened his reservation book and began going about his normal activities. "What do you plan to do?"

"Make a lot of lists."

A few hours later Lorelai managed to get a staff meeting together in the dining room before it was going to be opened for dinner. "We have a big issue concerning next weekend; we have a convention and a wedding back to back. The transition needs to happen fast, and I'm going to need some of you to stay overnight to help the wedding be put together, and we're talking Roadrunner fast here people. Now I'm cancelling lunch and dinner services on Thursday and Friday in order to give the kitchen staff time to make sure all of the baking is done in time, and I will be running around all week to get all of the supplies and make final plans, so if you need anything, ask Michel as he will be doing the day to day services.

"Room cleaning will have to be done before noon on Sunday which is when the wedding guests who are staying are scheduled to arrive. I know that this is going to suck and we're all going to be tired and on short fuses for a while but we'll get this done, and then after which you can have a contest to see who gets to shoot me if I ever do this again."

"Ooh let it be me please," called somone from the back.

Lorelai glared at him, "Michel will be getting all of the final details to you throughout the week and keep you up to date. Meeting adjourned, we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

Michel followed her up to the desk and they both began going through papers for each event. Both groaned at the same time when they saw everything that needed to be done listed out on the notepad that Lorelai had almost completely filled up. "We're never sleeping again are we?" Michel groaned.

The phone chose that moment to ring and make them both feel worse. "Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Lorelai? This is Sylvia."

"Oh hello, how have your wedding plans been coming?" She moved Michel over and began typing on the computer to bring up the reservations list.

"Very well, actually. I just called to let you know that Joe has agreed and that we want to have the wedding at the inn."

Lorelai smiled while inwardly she was groaning at the thought of another wedding on top of the other things piling up. "That's great, it's a date then. Now, this next week is going to be really crazy around here with another wedding coming up so why don't I give you a call when that's done and I can begin to help you out with getting things set up here?. . . Great, bye bye."

She hung up and turned to Michel who was giving her his evil stare, "I hate you, do you know that?"

"Don't worry her wedding is at the end of August, we'll have plenty of time to recuperate, and hopefully by then I will have gotten a labotomy since unlike Scully, I have much unrest."

* * *

The crowd parted like the Red Sea in Lorelai's wake among Stars Hollow's streets. They had learned over the past couple of days that until she was over with whatever was stressing her out, her phone was now an extra limb and her eyesight five feet in front of her was severly compromized. She strided down the street, holding her phone to her shoulder and writing things down on her notepad as she talked, "Michel I don't care; until this is over you, me, and anyone in my way has no outside life, and that included Paw-Paw and Chin-Chin. . . Yes I know they like Italian food. . . Aw geez, fine I give in Michel. Take the night off and I'll cover for Tobin, but I am not coming in until late tomorrow, and we're talking late late, later than Michael Jackson was to his hearing kind of late." She snapped her phone shut angriliy and shoved it in her bag before continuing to write notes to herself.

Luke saw her coming and rushed over to the door of the diner to open it; it beat having Lorelai run smack into it again and forcing him to clean it just after getting it put in. After she stumbled up the steps he gently nudged her in the direction of the counter and shut the door, going back behind it to pour her some coffee. She grunted slightly but kept writing, and his eyes bulged, "I never thought I'd see the day when you didn't inhale the coffee as soon as it was in front of you."

His comment seemed to stun her out of her funk and she shot her head up, "Oh geez how did I get here?"

"Glad to know I'm so memorable."

"Sorry I'm just distracted. Tobin isn't feeling well and can't work tonight and Michel's been doing extra hours already covering the inn himself while I run around madly so after he complained over ten e-mails, five phone calls, and three post its stuck to my car, I'm letting him have the night off and I've got the inn. Which I guess works because the flowers just came in and I need time to organize which ones are for the centerpieces and aisle decoration and unstring the lights and set up the convention room and-"

Luke cut her off by quickly kissing her. "Breathe," he commanded.

She shot him a 'why don't you know this?' look, "I can't. It takes too much time and energy away from stressing over how screwed I am this weekend and the amount of coffee I'm going to be able to get out of you before then."

"You don't need coffee you're going to be close enough to a heart attack already."

"Gee thanks; just what I want to hear."

Luke winked, "Always glad to help. Cheeseburger, fries, and pie?"

"You know me too well."

* * *

I'm going to call that it for this chapter since its been so long since I posted, but the next one should cover the wedding weekend. I don't know, my original plan for the story was to finish with LL's wedding but I guess we'll see how that goes since I'm nowhere near the thought process on that.

RnR

Snow


	7. Chapter 7

Hey it's the next chapter, sorry I haven't updated in a long time. So yeah I didn't get a lot of reviews for the last chapter. . . please review?

WARNING- THIS PART CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON PREMIERE- DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THEM (ALTHOUGH YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED BY ANY OF THEM)

* * *

Lorelai walked into the Dragonfly carrying two heavy looking duffel bags that night. One held comfortable clothing that she would be changing into for the duration of the evening, while the other held her almighty tunes to help her get through a night of flower arranging. She dumped both bags into her office before going back to the desk where Michel cheerfully bid her a good evening and then promptly sauntered off home to his dogs. Just as she was about to pull up the reservation list on the computer the phone rang.

"Dragonf-"

"How could you!"

The shrill voice on the other end caused her to yank the phone away from her own ear and wince before coming back. "How could I what?"

"You knew Rory's hearing was today and you weren't there! What kind of impression do you think that made on the judge when the mother of the defendant doesn't even show up to her daughter's hearing! I'll tell you what; not a good one!"

Lorelai sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well I'm sure she got over it when the world's biggest lobbyist was sitting right behind her."

"Of all the things you do in your life, Lorelai, this is most surely the worst; this is unforgivable! And I thought that at the end of the day you would at least get over your stubborn pride and do what was best for Rory!"

"My stubborn pride. . . let's see. . . my stubborn pride would have kept her at Yale, my stubborn pride would have kept her living in her own home, my stubborn pride should have kept me from ever speaking to you again. In case you recall, you have your perfect daughter; take what you want and just forget this one, I've already told her she's yours." With that she hung up the phone and braced her hands against the desk.

* * *

After spending a few hours checking on the guests and making sure the kitchen staff was ready to continue cooking for the weekend the next day, she closed herself in the office and changed into a hoodie and comfortable sweatpants. Michel had made sure that all of the flowers were delivered outside to the garden to take in the sun and any rainfall until they could be arranged, as well as putting the lights to be untangled by the kitchen door. She settled on the first task of the lights, taking them outside and plugging them in to see the strands.

The stillness of the night was peaceful; it was like all of the events of the week had just been washed away. She listened to the silence and pondered. Though Lorelai was not willing to show it to anyone, a part of her had been guilted at her mother's phone call. She and Rory hadn't talked since that day in the pool house and she had known that her visit wasn't a huge one in the long run, but part of her agreed with Emily that she should have at least been there to see her daughter get a permanent record.

She pulled a majority of the major knots out of the lights and coiled them to keep them from getting retangled.

Lorelai couldn't lie to anyone and say that she hadn't been hurt by what Rory ran to; it was the life she had sheltered her against, maybe too much. Rory was very much unlike other people in which she didn't shy away from what she didn't understand, and part of Lorelai now wondered if she would have chosen that life had she been more exposed to it early on. She sighed and rubbed the bridge between her eyes. Things were so complicated now, or was it that things were always this complex and she didn't realize it until it came smacking her in the face? It had just seemed like yesterday that they had finally mended the gap that last summer had brought between them and now they were farther apart than ever.

She missed her kid. Her bedroom was empty; Emily had stormed in and taken all of Rory's things to cart them off to the pool house and then to be catalogued and probably burned in accordance with how 'childish lorelai' they seemed. Even Luke looked like he missed the girl's presence in the house. Granted that the times all three of them stayed overnight at the same time was few between the schedules they kept, but when they were all there they had gotten used to having a movie night together. Sometimes she saw him picking up magazines and books and she could almost still see him picking up one of Rory's textbooks and placing it on the table after she had fallen asleep and dropped it. Once, she had seen him pick up her book and then tuck in the throw blanket on her as she slept on the couch with a gentleness that only a father had.

She suddenly wished that it was pouring rain outside and that she was Natalie Portman from Garden State. She wished that she was in a place that she could be out in the open and scream through the falling raindrops; to give to the storm all of the pain that hollowed her chest every time she saw the empty bedroom or the stray book in the house. Lorelai wanted to run a marathon while doing jumping jacks with a side of finding the cure for cancer to ease the pressure. The tears down her face only confirmed that she was nothing she thought she was. She wasn't Natalie Portman, nor an olympic runner, and not even Wonder Woman.

In a garden filled with some of the most beautiful flowers that she could ever imagine at her fingertips and the twilights of fairies glittering in her hands, Lorelai crumbled and gave in to the hollowness. Suddenly the fairies were gone and the colors of flowers blurred into the night, and all she could do was feebly hug her stomach and alternately rub her tears away into the fabric of a hoodie scarred with the stench of failure.

* * *

Rory sighed and put her book down on the coffee table; she hadn't actually read a word in it in the last twenty minutes. She stood and smoothed out her jeans before heading outside to breathe in the fresh air. Richard and Emily had had a dinner obligation that they couldn't cancel, although they had repeatedly offered to try and get her a place at their table. Rory had told them that she was just a little worn out and didn't feel like going out into polite society for the evening. She had contemplated calling Logan, but after today she was sure that his parents were probably playing house arrest on him at the moment.

The community service that she was sentenced to wasn't the biggest thing on her list of worries. It was problematic, and the number of hours left something to be desired, but it wasn't like she hadn't already done a ton of different service projects back in high school. She was in fact a seasoned veteran at it. The probation didn't look like it would be a lot of fun to deal with, but after the routine kicked in she was sure it was going to be easy to handle. Heck, the record thing wasn't bothering her at the moment even since as long as she didn't steal anymore boats it was possible to have it expunged before she would have theoretically graduated from Yale.

Lorelai didn't come.

Deep down Rory was expecting it; their relationship was still on horrible rocks even with their talk, but the shock of her not being there was harder to accept than she had thought. No matter where they had stood on their personal relationship, they had always been there for each other when one of them really needed it.

'No,' she decided, 'I'm being stupid. I don't even live at home anymore.'

The pool house now held every possession of hers that Emily was able to get ahold of, most of which had already been put into shelves, drawers, or closets, and the remaining things were just waiting for her to get another organizational spat. Something about it felt wrong though.

It wasn't home.

The walls didn't have Yale paraphenalia covering them, nor the posters of numerous places that she had dreamed of going to and some even visited. She didn't have her favorite reading lamp, or the comfortable pillow that she had spent many nights leaning against while she devoured her latest novel. She couldn't wake up, eat a pop tart, and then walk a few blocks down the road and order her specialty egg breakfast from Luke's all the while explain to him that it was too late for him to try and turn her away from coffee.

Her reflection in the pool began to shimmer as multiple ripples began to form on the surface. She turned her face to the rain suddenly coming down and closed her eyes just as a flash of lightning lit up the backyard. Her T-Shirt and jeans were soaked within seconds and her hair clung in uncomfortable places around her neck. Rory's shoes felt squishy and the socks inside like wet paper against her feet.

She felt so out of place and yet kept surrounding herself with things that were not usual to her. Her chest felt so hollow and yet so painful at the same time.

Rory glanced around her and noticed that most of the neighbors didn't appear to be home; probably at that stupid function as well. She wanted to do something crazy again, something to make her feel alive again.

So she screamed.

And for once, she was alive.

She was alive, but she was Natalie Portman, not Rory Gilmore.

Not anymore.

* * *

tbc

Well I decided to end things here because I have to go to bed and then to school. . . bleh, school

Woo senior year!

So RnR plz

Snow


	8. Conclusion

I've decided that I am going to stop the story at the last chapter, so just assume that the events segway into the normal timline (if that's possible). School and many other conflicts have gotten in the way recently, and I haven't been able to devote time to anything considering writing. So, put an ending on that fits, put it in the timeline, or anything else possible as long as you're eating curly fries while doing the action (shamlessly promotes employing corporation here).

And to the wonderful episode "Let me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out", it's about damn time Rory. She finally recognizes Emily's true nature and is seeing that Lorelai was right about her all along. Personally I think that she should cut off her grandparents completely, but she's just too nice for that. Woo hoo to the reconciliation next week!

And woo hooo to Lorelai for finally trusting Luke with some of her deeper feelings of failure (granted they were expressed through a dog). Definately a step forward.

Poor soccer team. Poor Luke. Poor away teams.

10 seconds of Lane? I want my money back.

Raise your hand if you wanted to bitch-slap Emily (and not for the first time).

Poor Paul Anka and his mystery illness.

Relax Lorelai, we all know how hard it is to pick out paint samples.

Lastly, yay to the return of sanity (Jess) and the hopeful departure of immaturity (Logan).

Anyways give me time to get relaxed, give me a good idea, and I'll be back writing before you know it.

Snow

Still likes reviews. . .


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